Family Visits July 2021

 

The whole gang other than Connor who took the photo. 

The new peron is Mike - AKA: "Tall and Bald"

Audrey is keeping Grandpa company

The six kids.

David and Jen gave me a fan for my birthday, and a bunch of fancy fruit.

My calf wound

Our July 4 cake

Extension to Kylie's House

 Planning and Permits

Getting a Building Permit has been a pain in the rear.

I had a draftsman draw up the first set of plans back in September 2020. 

The first problem we ran into was that the designed pitch on the roof of 2" in 12" required a steel roof (Shingle roofs require 3" in 12") However our permit application to the local HOA was rejected because they required the roof on the extension to match the existing house shingle roof. The limiting issue on the roof pitch was the placement of the existing windows. So back to the draftsman who managed to "shoe horn" the roof up to 3" in 12". 

In addition, the local HOA had an ongoing issue with the drainage easement and our back fence, and to solve that I had to install a 10' gate in the fence. The HOA committee only met once a month so this issue ate a couple of months.

Submitted the revised plans to the City in March, but it took a few weeks for them to "re-find the file". The City came up with some imaginary drainage issues, and that required Deidre and I to "survey" the elevations to prove that water would drain away from the house. We did so, but then they wanted the formal plans adjusted and resubmitted, which we arranged, but they lost those also.

But last week we got the OK, paid the fees, and getting ready for the first inspection.

Work Begins

The last stage of the permit process involves a "storm water drainage" inspection. It seems that the main purpose of the inspection is to ensure that the details of the building site on the plan exist in reality, and to inspect the "silt fence". A "silt fence" is required to prevent any "silt" to escape the lot and pollute the neighbors and the "retention pond" located downhill from Kylie's back yard.

Today I started the process of installing the silt fence. I purchased 200' of the silt fencing a few months ago, but have held off installing it waiting for progress with the Permit. Well, the moment has arrived!

Rather than dig the necessary trench by hand, I hired a mechanical trencher (and the trailer to haul it). The "thing" weighed a ton and I had to pull it backwards, while it wanted to go forwards. Lots of huffing and puffing.

Next step was to install the actual "silt fence" and bury at least 6" of its "tail". A thunderstorm interrupted this process, so we abandoned ship, and I hope to finish tomorrow. (But I have a skin doctor appointment at 10 AM, lunch with Kylie at 12:30 PM and a haircut at 3:00 PM, Friday we fly to AZ to attend Bill's 80th birthday.)

It was a hot and sweaty day. I lost 5 pounds between my shower before breakfast and my shower at 4PM.

Time to Get Back to Work

We were home from Jacksonville by about 8PM Monday, August 2nd. Some neighbors had prepared us some dinner. Next day I was ready to get back to "normal"

On Wednesday I took Mason to the doctors for his annual check up. He was a bit mad with the world because he was missing out on some sort of a treat at day care, but I had fun anyway. The doctor kept us waiting about 1/2 hour.

Monday August 9, 2021

Last week I got moving on the Project again. The concrete guy agreed to start on Monday and pour on Wednesday. The HVAC guy agreed to arrive early on Monday and disconect the HVAC and move the compressor out of the way. My framer (Gabrial) refused to respond to my text messages, which is a bad sign as I need him next. The electrical (Adam the Aussie) said he would be ready when I needed him. And I had lunch on Friday with Bill the roofer - who is Kylie's ex "uncle in law" and a great guy 

Over the weekend I spend a day or so cleaning up the existing back porch and getting the space ready. 

It was very hot and humid day, the concrete team worked hard and long, and I think they did a good job. We now wait for the city to inspect and approve tomorrow.

Kylie's garage is a bit overstuffed, so while the concrete guys were working we unloaded the whole area and sorted and tossed out and restacked the lot. Kylie really worked hard. I gave up by about 3 PM and went home, had a shower and went to bed for a couple of hours.

Because the HVAC is disconnected Kylie has no AC, so she and the kids are staying at our house on the IOP until Friday at least. That will be fun.

Wednesday August 11, 2021

The concrete truck and the concrete pump arrived on time. I had invited both Mason and Audrey to come with me, but Mason wanted to go to "Camp" (Daycare in the summer) because they were having an outing and Audrey was still asleep at 7 AM, so I had to go without a buddy.

The process was held up for awhile because the concrete pipe seemed to be blocked but after 30 minutes of beating and cursing they got under way. As expected, the concrete crew was all Mexican, and they worked hard. It was allover by about 2 PM. 

It was another hot and humid day, and so Kylie and my job was to hose down the new concrete to prevent it from drying too quickly in the sun. Kylie had turned up with Audrey at about 9 AM. She was interested and she stayed for a while until I took here to day care. 

Audrey needed to explain some concrete skills to the truck driver

Almost done.

I thought I had made a deal with a "framer" but now that I need to set the start date he will not return my calls. His name is Gabriel, and he is a good guy and works hard, but like many Mexicans he does not understand the need to communicate. I have been trying to make contact for a week with no success, so today I started looking for a replacement. I have ordered the windows and the doors and they are running late, so there is really no time pressure.

A surprise visitor at #21

Most of the houses on our street back onto a lagoon and then the 15th hole of the "Harbor Golf Course". They make a very pleasant view for our living room, plus we have a deck and a screened in porch over looking the back lawn, the lagoon and the course. There is all sorts of "wild life" associated with the lagoon and golf course, we especially like the hundreds of wading birds that frequent the area.

Because of the flood threat, our house is elevated about 12' and so the garage and my workshop is "under the house". The lawn between the back of the house and the lagoon is only about 30' wide and I groomed it so the lawn gracefully runs into the lagoon. When I mow the grass I run the front two wheels of the mower into the water so that the grass is cut right into the water. (Usually a few turtles come and watch)

We bought the house about 30 years ago (how time flies) and that is when we first met "Alice". Alice is quite a big croc and is still around although we do not see her much these days - she likes it a bit better about 5 houses away behind Mary-Alice's house, plus she tends to roam around the various lagoons. She seems to have babies every few years, and we expect the croc in the photo is one of those. 

The Framers are coming!

The Framers arrived on time this morning (Friday August 20), and I was ready for them! Five nice guys, all Guatemalans, two could speak sorta English (like me) and the other three not so much. It was a stinking hot day, but boy oh boy, did these guys work! (I am typing this at 8:30PM and its still 91 degrees F and 60% humidity.)

I spent the whole day with them (mostly watching from inside) answering their questions (when I was able) and running messages. Plus I mowed the lawn and cleared up the inside of the back wall in anticipation of them "breaking through".

They will be back tomorrow (Saturday) and tell me they will finish (I sorta doubt it). I also have an appointment with the "gutter guy". Kylie will be at work, the kids will be at the Taylors.

Saturday August 21, 2021

Work today started at 8:30 AM but was cut short by rain at about 2:30 PM, but plenty was achieved. These guys are serious workers.

Monday August 23, 2021

The boys were on the job and working at 8 AM. By lunch time the roof and ceilings were installed. After lunch they started the last step - removing one existing window and the existing back door, and filling them in. The other back window will be replaced by a double French door (in Geoff's honor) but we are waiting on the door delivery.

Kylie's "ex uncle-in-law Bill" will be doing the roof and he arrived mid morning to set up the job. He is a great guy and we get on well. The materials are to be delivered in the AM Tuesday and his crew would start work immediately.

By 3 PM the framers were cleaning up. Nothing we can do now until a) the work is approved and b) the doors and windows arrive.

The one window and the door removed

Tuesday, August 24, 20121

Last night while in bed I decided that I should call the city and ask if I am allowed to complete the roof B4 the structure is approved. So I called the city at 8 AM and they said "certainly not". So I cancelled the roof team and ordered an inspection - but not until Wednesday. The weather has been so wet - I really wanted that roof!

Deidre came over with me today and we sorted and carried the unused lumber out onto the driveway so we can arrange for a pick up. I mowed the grass (again) so that the place would look "neat and tidy" for the inspection.

Today's family photo was received from Adam. His son "Indy" has just started High School, but obviously as a "Freshman" (Think 3rd form). Since he is such a good soccer player he has been asked to practice with the varsity soccer team. Indy is not a big boy yet (Only 5'2" and "not a hair on his legs" as his Dad says) and the varsity kids can be rather big and intimidating. 

So the photo below is of Indy taking the ball from a guy twice his size by dribbling it thru his legs. Adam was very chuffed.

"GO INDY!"

Wednesday August 25, 2021

Another good day today. Today was Audrey's first day at "Pre-K" at the local primary school - "Jenny Moore" - the same school that Mason has just reported to 3rd grade. The poor kids have to be at school by 7:30 AM. Naturally, we have a photo:

I reported to duty at Kylie's house by 8 AM so I could wait for the city inspector. I was a bit worried about the meeting because I thought there was a possibility I had skipped an inspection. But that was a waste of a worry - the inspector arrived before 10 AM and was a nice guy, and he OK'd the work and told me I could proceed with the roof etc. 

So I immediately messaged the roofer and advised him that the roof work could start. They must have all been sitting around because they arrived about lunchtime and had finished before 5 PM. Great! The last two days have been the first rain free days for ages, so my luck is holding.

Now I need the framers to return and install the Tyvek moisture barrier AND I then I need the vinyl siding installed. At that point the building will be impervious. 

Thank goodness for immigrants.

Thursday August 26th, 2021

Not such a good day today 😢. The guys turned up today (by surprise) to install the Tyvek (moisture barrier) and install the two external doors. That was great until they called and told me I had ordered the wrong sized single door!

Originally the extension was designed using 2" by 4" lumber. But the engineer changed the back wall to 2" by 6" because it needed to be stronger. This means the trim on the single door needed to be 2" wider/thicker, but I forgot to change the rear door and the rear window orders! Big screw up. I drove over and convinced the boys that they could "trim it up" and they said OK - I have not seen the result yet. Kylie says it looks OK.

I now need the vinyl cladding installed.

Tomorrow we are driving to Black Mountain to see our dear friend Nick who has throat cancer. We will only be with him an hour or so as he gets tired quickly.  Its a 5 hour drive each way, so a big day. But he is having a real hard time and I want to see him.

Monday September 6, 2021

This morning we left home "reasonably early" to drive 725 miles to Cleveland. We wanted to visit the "Cleveland Blackman Family" to see their new kitchen and spend time with the family. We did not make it the first day and ended up spending the night in Caldwell, Ohio (About 20 miles north of crossing the Ohio river. (We picked the hotel basically at random, and although it was a rather old place it was in immaculate shape, and I hope we stop there again.)

Next morning we were underway after an excellent breakfast at the hotel restaurant and arrived at Ardleigh Court  about lunch time.  The new kitchen was most impressive. We stayed until the kids arrived home from school. Adam and Kathy have done a great job with the kids, they are a lovely pair. We had been invited to a Simkoff Jewish New Year dinner and Ruby volunteered to pick us up at the hotel - she has just turned 16 and now has a drivers license and a car!

Her car is a "stick shift" which is quite unusual in the USA. But apparently Adam told her that her friends could never borrow her car, her car could not be stolen, and she could not text on her phone in a stick shift!

Photo from the Simkoff event. Kathy has a large family. Adam was cut off the side by the camera, but you can see me, Deidre, Kathy, Ruby and Indy.

Wednesday September 8, 2021

We took it easy - Adam and Kathy were working, the kids were at school - so we toured around our old haunts and met Adam for lunch. At lunch he handed over 4 prepaid "premium" tickets for the Indians game and so we called some old friends and ended up downtown in the stadium for prepaid dinner and the game. They lost, but the weather and the company was great.

Thursday September 9, 2021

I "worked" on my computer most of the day. Both kids had soccer games that afternoon and night. Ruby's was in Garfield Heights (a 5 mile drive) and Indy's was later in Madison (a 40mile drive). We all went to the former, Adam and I attended the latter. The kids played well and both games were victories.

Today, Connor passed his last interview and was made an Eagle Scout. He started this process in Houston and has continued in South Korea and Taiwan and back to Houston. Quite an effort, and we are proud of him.

Friday September 10, 2021

We drove home - all 735 miles in one day. 

Monday September 13 thru Friday September 17, 2021

This was a good week - the vinyl cladding was started last week and finished this week. The building is now waterproof and can be locked up, and looks good. Kylie is happy, so I am happy.

I had been contacting our Australian electrician ("Adam")on a regular basis, and he turned up on Thursday. My deal with him was to be his helper. So Thursday and Friday I attended to all the grunge work - drilling holes for the cable, nailing the outlet and switch mounts, pulling wire and etc. I went to bed early each night. We did OK, but still have a couple of days work remaining.

Kylie had a kid party for one of her friends on the weekend and she decorated and used the new Family Room. In anticipation I power washed the side of the house as high as I could reach. You can see "the clean part" and the "dirty part" on the end wall.

Monday September  20, 2021

Adam did not turn up today and I have not heard from him. That's OK with me, I was still tired from last week. I did a few minor jobs and called it quits at lunch time. This afternoon I purchased the HVAC unit - I have been dilly-dallying for weeks over what to buy. I hope I made the correct decision. 

Saturday and Sunday October 2 and 3, 2021

We had the two kids for the weekend, Kylie was working. 

Tuesday and Wednesday October 5 and 6, 2021

The electrical work was approved on Tuesday morning and so the insulation could begin.

Thursday October 7, 2021

Today we drove to Wilmington NC to meet up with Nick and Lyn who were having a restful week on the beach. Nick has been making some progress recovering from his cancer treatment and can now eat soft food, so we decided to meet for lunch. 

The 1941 battleship NORTH CAROLINA was moved to a special mooring space near Wilmington so we decided to take the tour. The ship seems to be in perfect condition, the tour was rather amazing. An interesting observation was that the battleship was "state of the art" when launched in 1941 but effectively obsolete at the same time. As a result the 15" guns were never used to fight another ship, just to bombard an invasion sight.

Friday October 8, and onwards............

We continued with the insulation process and finished on Sunday. I was happy with the result. The city is sending the inspector on Tuesday next week!

Some times I am just not tall enough

Sometimes the Jeep is just not big enough

Monday & Tuesday October 11 and 12, 2021

Today I was able to get back to woodworking tasks, something I enjoy way more than stuffing fiberglass. By Tuesday I had the "pocket door" and the new "light window" installed. Both went in well.

I have now tried 5 drywall installers to no avail. There is no way I could do it. 

Wednesday October 13, 2021

Deidre's ankle needs an overhaul. Today we drove to Duke (in Durham, NC) so that she could attend preliminary evaluations and testing, the actual "procedure" is scheduled for Friday. The surgeon does not expect her to stay overnight in hospital, so if she is feeling OK we will head home Friday afternoon. (Its a 5 hour drive.) She will be in a cast for 3 weeks. 

We are staying at a friends house - Nick's ex wife Susan.

Friday October 15, 2021

I delivered Deidre to the hospital at 7:30 AM as required and handed her over. They sent me a text as she went thru the process and the doctor called at about 11 AM as said "All went well." She was in recovery for a while, I was able to pick her up about 12:30 PM and load her into the car. We were back home by about 7:30 PM. We were instructed to stop every 90 minutes or so for her to "have a walk".

The hardest bit was getting Deidre up the 17 steps to our front door. One of our neighbors helped. It all went well. We have set up a bed in the living room and I slept on the couch to keep her company. 

Saturday and Sunday October 16 and 17, 2021

The last two days have been reasonably calm and Deidre has managed very well. The neighbors keep dropping off food, so we are not starving. The weather has cooled down a lot, so sleeping is easier. I actually left her this morning to go over to Ky's to meet a contractor and do a bit of work.

Monday November 8, 2021

OUR NEW KITCHEN

 Tuesday September 8, 2020

Today we ordered (and paid for!) all new cabinets for the Kitchen and Bar, plus a new refrigerator, stove top, built in oven, and overhead vent. We had to do it in two purchases because our credit card could not handle it in one go, and I did not want to miss out on all those points. We have been promised 4 to 6 weeks delivery. The cabinets in the kitchen will be white, and "natural" in the bar. 

(I have an image of the plan view but the system is fighting me (and winning) so that will have to wait,)

Monday September 14, 2020

I have about 4 weeks to get the kitchen area ready for the new cabinets. The new plans involve moving the refrigerator and the sink locations and cutting a 36" pass through that will make the sink area an "island". Creating the "pass through" involves removing about 18" of a wall and 18" of the existing counter top. 

Last week I cut some "peep holes" into the wall that I plan to remove, and discovered that all the existing plumbing, plus a bunch of the wiring, happens to be located in that piece of wall. That has caused lots of chin scratching.

Look at all those pipes and wires! Damn!

Tuesday September 15, 2020

In order to move the plumbing and electrical it will be necessary to get into the ceiling and the floor (thru the ceiling in the garage below!). So today we unpacked one of the overhead cabinets and removed it to give me access to the ceiling plus the back of the wall section that will be removed..

Access into the ceiling

Wednesday September 17, 2020

Today we drove up to Black Mountain in NC to have dinner with one of our long term friends that we had not seen for 6 months. We stayed the night in a hotel and drove back today thru the remnants of "Hurricane Sally". Back to work tomorrow. 

Monday September 21st, 2020

Since Hurricane Sally passed thru the south, the weather has taken a turn for the better. We have been enjoying temps in the low 80's and high 70's and cool nights, and have been able to turn off the AC and open the windows. The kitchen job is basically on hold now until we get a hard delivery date on the cabinets. 

My lawn is starting to recover from the "buuug attack", and I am seeing new green shoots appearing throughout. 

Friday September 25, 2020

Kylies 38th birthday was on Wednesday. Hard to believe, seems not so long ago she escorted me home to Australia for Mum's funeral. She brought Mike (aka "tall and bald") and the kids over on Friday for dinner. We ended the evening with an all out wresting match which ended successfully (meaning no one was crying.)   

Monday September 28, 2020

Met with the plumber and the electrician last week. The plumber agreed to do his part in exchange for my "old" motor bike, that I have not ridden for about 8 years. As we were deciding which part of the ceiling I had to tear down, he had noticed it sitting in the garage, slowly rusting. 

The cabinet installers were meant to call me last week to set up a planning meeting, but that did not happen. Our "cabinet lady" at Lowes in on vacation until Wednesday so I am sitting on my hands until then. 

We have bought tickets to fly to Houston for 5 nights over the second weekend in October. We are flying in/out of Jacksonville, FL because there are no nonstop flights to Houston from Charleston these days, but there is one from J'ville. We are a bit apprehensive, but we want to see the kids.

Tuesday October 6th, 2020

We finally received a delivery date for the cabinets on Friday - of Thursday October 15, 2020. So over the last two days I have (I hope) set up the following plan:

     Thursday October 15th: Cabinets arrive

     Friday October 16th: Installation crew inspect the new cabinets and remove the existing cabinets

     Saturday & Sunday 17th and 18th: ROB works on preparation

     Monday 19th: Plumber plumbs!

     Tuesday 20th: Electrician  wires!

     Wednesday 21st: Installation crew installs!

     Thursday 22nd: Countertop people measure & Drywall guy repairs damaged walls. ROB installs temporary countertop and temporary floor, installs stove top and oven and microwave, and finishes the new passageway, 

     Friday 23rd: New refrigerator delivered and installed.

 Today we selected two slabs of  "River White" granite for the countertops. This is one of them. 

We have also purchase three "pendant" lights that will hang over the new island counter. 

 

Tuesday October 13, 2020

Back from Houston family visit. All good.

Wednesday October 14, 2020

The cabinets arrive tomorrow so I need to get busy. We moved the refrig, removed the old sink,  dismantled the old bar top and removed the drywall surrounding the old kitchen. I also removed a cabinet to expose the new location of the microwave. Does not sound like much, but I sure made a mess. (I am trying to be tidy for Deidre.) 

Had a little bit of trouble when I shut off the water to "cut and plug" a couple of pipes and I ended up a bit damp, but otherwise OK. No flushing toilets tonight while we wait for the glue to cure! We went out for dinner. 

Exposing the island-bar wall

Thursday, October 15, 2020

Turned the water back on the AM and we had showers with warm water.

Cabinets arrive about 8:30 AM and filled the living room. 

I removed a couple of the old cabinets and the associated drywall to fully expose the plumbing and electrical work that has to be redirected. Does not sound like much, but I sure made a mess, again.

Opening the new pass thru

. 

Friday October 16, 2020

The appliances arrived early. The guys were kind enough to move our old frig. and the drop in stove down to the garage. I had advertised the "as new" stove on Craig's List and had a buyer waiting. The new 'frig is now operating in the living room.  

The installation guys arrived a bit late after lunch. The unpacked the cabinet delivery and sadly found one damaged cabinet that will have to be replaced. Then they removed the remainder of our old cabinets and loaded them in their truck to be delivered to "Habitat for Humanity".

Once they had left Deidre and I started working on the damaged walls and painting over the old red wall paint (applied by a tenant in the past, probably Kylie and Ryan!)

Primer over the old red

Mess of cabinets in the living room

Saturday October 17, 2020

Much progress today. 

• Finished painting with the primer. Tomorrow I expect we will be able to apply the final color
• Repainted the crown molding (AKA "cornices")
• Opened up the new walk thru space
• Repaired parts of the hard wood floor

The young lady who purchased the stove turned up with her uncle's truck to pick it up. She was so excited, it was fun to see. 

I hate painting

Sunday October 18, 2020

Drove over to Lowes to buy grey paint. I had no idea there were so many "shades of grey." After much discussion we selected a shade and headed home to paint. We only needed to paint "where the cabinets were not located" so that did not take long. I think we are happy with the color.

Monday October 19, 2020

The plumbers arrived on time and were finished by lunch. I called Adam the electrician and he arrived by 1:00 PM and we worked steadily to about 6:00 PM. I worked as his helper to help his progress. I had obviously underestimated the time that the electrical work would take, because we were way from finished. Every run seemed to involved cutting more holes in the walls or ceiling. We made progress, but did not have much to show.

The Master and the Apprentice

Tuesday, October 20, 2020

Adam was back at work before 10 AM and we worked steadily thru the day until about 6 PM. I was feeling a bit of pressure because the cabinet installers were due in the AM. All the electrical seemed to get done, but I had a lot of holes in the wall to resolve. 

Can you see Deidre?

Wednesday, October 21, 2020

I worked after dinner last night and after breakfast this AM and finished "rough" patching the remaining holes. Its now about 4 PM and the installers have made some good progress. We have a potential issue with the oven/hot top installation (There is no way it will fit per my tape measure) but time will tell.

There is one damaged cabinet that will need to be replaced, and that will take a couple of weeks. Plus there are a few bits and pieces that are missing.

Starting to take shape

Thursday October 22, 2020

The installers were back today. Their solution to the oven space problem was to cut the base out of the beautiful new cabinet and build a false floor a couple of inches lower. I was not happy to see this brand new $800 cabinet hacked into, but apparently this was a "typical" solution. Why GE and the cabinet people can't figure out a standard size?

The granite people came and measured today.

Friday October 23, 2020

Now that the cabinets were in place, I could finalize the precise location of the new walk thru and complete the framing and general woodwork. Done.

With the walk thru complete, the area of the "extra" kitchen floor is now apparent. Its only about 12 square feet, but installation of the new yellow oak tongue and groove boards will be a bit tricky because it is surrounded by the existing oak t & g floor. It will be hard to get a contractor to do such a small job, especially when the end result might be a bit in doubt. 

I had kept a bundle of the yellow oak boards that were left over from the reception/laundry project. Also, I could get at the floor from underneath and avoid the need to rent a special air staple gun that the contractors use. So I decided to do it myself.

Saturday and Sunday, 24 and 25, 2020

The next project was to cut down the "island wall" so that it was just high enough to block Deidre's view of any untidiness on the island bench, and to get it level. (Currently it was 7/8" out of horizontal, end to end.) I had promised the granite people that the height would be 5.250" plus/minus 1/16".

Monday October 26, 2020

Adam the electrician arrived about 3 PM. Although he seemed to want to avoid it, his main task today was to install 220V outlets for the oven and the hot top. Apparently he had a space problem. He fiddled around with a few other items but eventually he came up with a plan for the 220V. Once done, we were able to load the oven into the cabinet. All went well, although Adam cannot actually connect the oven until the granite is in place.

Tuesday October 27, 2020

Busy start today. I woke up in the middle of the night and realized that I had made the mistake of arranging for Curtis (the drywall guy) to start that morning. He would be repairing all the holes in the walls and ceilings, including the garage.

But I still had the last hardwood board to fit in the kitchen floor (which is the hardest one!) and I needed access from underneath. So I was up early and ran around like a crazy person until I had jammed the last board in place and secured it from underneath. It took a few hours, but fortunately Curtis was held up by traffic on the I-526. 

Not a bad job for a novice.

I also had to add new insulation in the kitchen floor/garage roof before Curtis could start in the garage. I had saved insulation from the reception/laundry expansion and now that is in place and out of the garage. All good

Adam the electrician arrived about 10 AM and he is busy hanging the new pendant lights over the island bench and installing outlets under the sink, over the microwave and elsewhere. All good. Maybe I can have some breakfast now.

Deidre headed of to the granite vendor this morning to supervise them laying out the patterns on the granite slabs. The granite will be delivered & installed on Thursday November 5, 2020. (So no kitchen sink for another 10 days!)

Problem: The glass in the new pendants does not match! Damn. 

Note the oven in place, temporary countertop, ceiling repairs underway.

Three reasons why Deidre should be happy:

1. The motor bike is gone from the garage - swapped for work with the plumber

2. The bundle of oak T&G stored behind the love seat in my office is (mostly) gone

3. The stack of insulation stored in the back corner of the garage is gone

Now, if I could just figure out what to do with my "spare" front door!

Thursday and Friday October 19 and 30, 2020

How time flies, its now Saturday evening, and there is not much to report. Thursday Deidre drove around town looking (unsuccessfully) for tiles (for the back splash)  and I worked at my desk. That afternoon we picked up the grandkids and had them till about 9 PM.

On Friday, based upon a suggestion from our tiling contractor,  we "found" a new large tile warehouse and we are now confident that once we "see" the countertop in place we will be able to find the right tile. The countertops will be installed this coming Thursday, the Tiler arrives the following Tuesday. 

Saturday October 31, 2020

One of my political jobs is as the Editor of, (and major contributor to) the ISLE OF PALMS DEMOCRAT NEWSLETTER, that has been issued each Saturday for the last eight weeks. This morning I really wanted to paint, but had to work on the newsletter until it was released. Today was the last edition!

I was able to start painting in the kitchen about Noon, and work at least until 3 PM in order to clean up and pick up the kids at 4 PM. I had also planned to install the microwave and the dishwasher, but that is now penciled in for Sunday. At least the painting is basically complete.

Sunday November 1, 2020

Woke up "early" because we turned our clocks back last night. Crazy business. Out for breakfast.

Installed the microwave and the dishwasher today. The MW works, but the DW is waiting for the plumber. Did a little touch up painting. 

Looks OK?

Also looks OK. The cabinet installers will trim the bottom/front

Monday November 2, 2020

Don't remember. Maybe I tidied up my workshop?

Tuesday November 2, 2020

Something distracted me today so no work was done.

Wednesday November 3, 2020

I continued to be distracted for most of the day, although I did manage to demolish and remove the counter in the Jack & Jill bathroom upstairs. Our garbage can is going to be very heavy on Tuesday morning.

Kylie called after dinner and complained of a stomach ache.

Thursday, November 4, 2020

The counter tops were delivered and installed - exciting day! The 3 guys - 2 Brazilians and 1 Mexican - worked hard and efficiently all day and did a great job. They chatted away in Portuguese, Spanish and then English when I was involved. Quite amazing. We are delighted with the final result.

About 11 AM Kylie called and said she was leaving work and going straight to the doctors. The doctor said that she had a tummy bug, that he was seeing 4 or 5 a day just like her. Nothing he could really do except recommend an anti nausea drug and Imodium (An over the counter drug for upset stomach)

Kylie called us about 3 PM and told us she was on the floor at home, in #10 pain, throwing up.  Deidre drove straight over and took her to hospital where she was admitted. Initial diagnosis was a combination of UT infection, kidney infection, possible blood clot, and possible kidney stone. They gave her morphine for the intense pain and an antibiotic for the infections, took a CT scan and kept her over night. 

I picked up the kids from school and took them home - fed them, bathed them, let them watch TV and put them to bed (Good Grandpa stuff!) Deidre arrived home from the Hospital about 11 PM

Friday, November 5, 2020

We gave the kids breakfast and took them to their respective schools. The Taylors arranged to pick them up after school and take them for the weekend.

At the hospital more of the same, more tests and CT scans, but no positive diagnosis. Deidre was in and out, delivering clothing and food. Kylie was feeling less pain, but obviously not out of the woods. 

Meantime, back at #21, the plumbers came and stayed all day. I was very pleased that I was not paying by the hour. But they did finish, and now we have a working kitchen sink, a working dishwasher and new taps and drains in the Jack and Jill bathroom upstairs. 

Its always taken an age for the hot water to reach the kitchen, so they installed a pump that pumps the cold hot water into the cold water line until its hot. (A week later its still not working, but at least its in place.)

Saturday November 6, 2020

Spent an hour or so at the tile warehouse and brought home 1/2 dozen "possibles" to help us make a decision.

Deidre was in and out of the hospital again today. Kylie still does not have a definitive diagnosis. 

I spent most of the day attempting to install "crown molding" (i.e."cornice") in the new part of the kitchen wall. In the USA crown molding is made from two pieces of milled wood. Its complicated, because the angles have to be cut upside down on the chop saw. I filled my imperfect cuts with "plastic wood" and it looks OK now that it is painted!

Sunday November 7, 2020

Kylie was discharged around midday. She is feeling better, but run down, and has no definitive diagnosis. She is still on pain pills and blood thinners for the clot. She has appointments with three different specialists over the next couple of months.

I don't remember what I did, but I am sure it was important.

We spent the evening with her, made dinner, cut the grass etc. 

Monday November 9, 2020

Deidre slept over at Kylie's and took the kids to school. For such little people, they start so early. I think its nuts.

We finalized our back-splash tile choice over the weekend so drove over to the warehouse and picked up three boxes. I send a message to the tile guy and he responded by telling me he would be another day late. 

Tuesday November 10, 2020

Successful day today. 

I was up at 6 AM to drive to Kylie's and take the kids to school - Mason at 6:55 AM and Audrey at 7:30 AM and then home to pick up Deidre leaving Kylie to snooze and generally take it easy.

My objective today was to find some "interesting wood" to install on the Living Room side of the Kitchen island." The finished job would be about 36 square feet and I guessed I would need about 50 square feet of the raw product. I had identified three lumber distributors, one woodworking shop and one lumber mill, all a bit inland of Charleston. But our first stop was on the way in Summerville for breakfast.

The first place turned out to be a modern business that did not really have what I was looking for and was way over priced. The second was the woodworking shop owned by a genuine craftsman with a couple of "shortened" fingers (like Dad's) and an impressive wood shop and a lot of raw wood inventory. Also way too expensive.

The next place was in the middle of nowhere and a remnant of pre war South Carolina. It was an old saw mill that had definitely seen better days. (I have to go back and I will take a photo) They must have been collecting logs and reclamation wood for a hundred years. The place had not seen a paintbrush in my lifetime. They had an ancient accumulation of milled wood and logs, stored in large dilapidated buildings. 

The proprietor was a friendly young man, and he had exactly the sort of thing I wanted. (I did not know specifically what I wanted, but I thought I would recognize when I saw it!) He showed me a small stack of 100 year Cypress "sinker wood" that had been ripped into planks 6" to 8" wide by about 9/16" thick. The "figuring" on the wood was very interesting. We made a deal on the spot - $192 for about 50 board feet! What a deal! We can pick up our order "sometime next week."

Its called "sinker wood" because in the old days when they were cutting lumber in the Cypress swamps they would float the tree trunks down the rivers to the mills. Cypress is quite heavy wood, and so if it was left in the water too long it would sink to the bottom. Many of the logs have been rediscovered as the rivers and canals have been dredged. 

We were back in town in time to pick up Audrey and take her to Hip-Hop, only to discover it had been cancelled because of a possible Covid issue. 

The tiler called with a change of plans - "See you tomorrow!"

Wednesday November 11, 2020 "Armistice Day"

Chris (my favorite tiler) arrived at 7 AM. Its now 4:30 PM and the job is done. Our choice of tile was "conservatives" and the result looks "nice".

While Chris tiled, I entertained myself by painting the west wall of our living room. I will try and do a wall a day. But tomorrow I focus on installing the new flue. 

New Tile Backsplash

Thursday November 12, 2020

Adam, our electrician turned up today (after only a few prompts) and completed the electrical work. Deidre's hot-top and oven are now operable, as are all the outlets and the power source for the new flu. I believe his work is now complete.

I spent most of the day painting in the living room and completed another wall and a bit. The remaining part of the room is around the TV (and where the rest of the homeless kitchen clobber is stored) and that will be messy. But tomorrow is "flue day".

Kylie went to work today and seems to have survived. It has rained cats and dogs all day, more wind and rain tonight as hurricane ETA. passes off shore. 

Friday November 13, 2020

We took a large load of detritus to the dump today. We loaded the Jeep first thing  this morning, but as we set off red lights on the dash told us we had a flat tire, so we had to unload the whole lot to get the spare out, change the tire, and then load it again. But it was a good load and its really satisfyingly to get rid of stuff! I purchased two new tires that night.

On the way back from the dump we arranged lunch with Ky at the local hardware store that have an interesting little casual outside café. It started off selling hot dogs and now the food is quite good. Kylie seemed in good spirits.

When we eventually got back to #21, I installed a new light in the bar and had an initial "go" at the new exhaust flue. Next step for the flue is to drill a 6" hole in the side of the house. 

The hood base is now in place, I think that will be the easy bit. Note the cardboard protecting the new glass Hot Top in case I dropped a tool. 

Saturday November 14, 2020

Deidre has packed most of the new cabinets and the living room is looking civilized again. However the refrigerator is still waiting to move to its final location, and that is a bit of a spoiler. We have received the replacement cabinet, but the installers have not identified a date to finish the job, and I am starting to get aggravated. More pressure next week.

Today I finished painting the Living Room walls, touched up paint around the house in general, and finished a bit of woodwork. Mark and Donna came over for dinner - we ate out in the screened-in-porch.

Sunday November 15, 2020

Bit of a lost day. Started to put the living room curtains back up but bailed when we decided the rods were now the wrong color. Re-sanded and varnished the coffee table. Did a little bit of tidy up woodwork. Kylie was at work so we picked up the kids from the Taylors about 5PM and played with them until Kylie arrived home from work at about 7:30 PM. Watched the Space-X launch. 

Adam and Kathy are driving down for Thanksgiving - arrive Tuesday and leave Saturday. Deidre is starting to plan. 

Sunday November 22, 2020

Bit of a lost week. The parts to finish our kitchen were MIA all week, my relations with Lows started to see some strain, but the parts turned up on Friday and will be delivered Monday. Too late to get installed by Thanksgiving, but better late than never.

Deidre and I drove back to the sawmill on Tuesday to pick up the "sinker" wood. I was a bit disappointed in the quality, I will have to do a lot of cutting our flaws, so I asked for another 4 planks and hope to pick them up next week. 

Kylie called on Wednesday and reported a possible flea infestation. So Deidre and I jumped into action and purchased a bunch of flea stuff and headed to her house. Kylie had the day off so we three spent the day vacuuming, stripping the garage (where the cat is fed), washing sheets, treating upholstered surfaces and etc., but never saw a flea! The lease may never have been there, but her house is now extra clean!

Thursday I started working on my "sinker wood". First step was to cut off or strip out the bad parts, and ended up with 22 pieces of various widths but all 42" to 44" long. 

Our kitchen "island" has two nominally 45 degree corners (actually 41 degrees and 49 degrees) and so the next step was to strip a pair of boards to 20.5 degrees and another 24.5 degrees and glue them to "make the turn".

I spent most of Friday cutting "ship lap" configuration into the boards.

Monday November 23, 2020

Continued cutting and installing, the vertical planks were about 90% by the end of the day. Adam and family are scheduled to arrive late tomorrow, so all tomorrow will be devoted to getting the house ready. 

The installers called at about 5 PM and offered to finish our job first thing in the AM.

At about 8 PM we heard that Adam and family were already on the road. 

Tuesday November 24, 2020

Up early and polished off my job list ASAP. Deidre gave me permission to head out to the lumber yard and pick up my extra 4 boards as soon as the installers had arrived and were settled. They were a bit late (10:30 AM) and so I did not get onto the road until 11 AM. 

Adam and family arrived about 1:00 PM. The installers were still on the job, and now had a compressor in the Living Room. Kathy, Indy and I went for a bike ride to the beach and on to the market. Adam went for a run. The installers left about 3 PM. Kylie and the 2 kids arrived about 5:30 PM. Deidre made a big lasagna and salad for dinner. 

Our house is a bit small for 4 visitors. Adam and Kathy had a bedroom each (the rooms are small), Ruby had a bed in the laundry and Indy had a bed in my office. When Mason and Fiona spent the night, they slept on the floor in our bedroom. Its a bit messy, but who cares? Ruby and Indy are relaxed kids. But I would like a bigger house.

Wednesday, November 25, 2020

The weather was being very kind to our visitors - today was another perfect fall day, about 75 degrees and no wind. We packed a picnic and drove north to Awendaw for a hike and picnic. Deidre dropped us of at a trail head on the Palmetto Trail and continued on to our picnic spot at Buck Hall. Adam, Kathy, Ruby, Indy the dog (Leo) completed the 6 mile walk along the Arwebdaw Creek in about 1 1/2 hours. 

Leo the dog is a "lap dog" and I suspect he does not see much of the outside world. Kathy let him off his leash and he dashed in and out of the bush as we walked along the trail, obviously enjoyed every moment of freedom, and arrived covered in mud. 

Upon arrival at the park we got the fire going and cooked the hamburgers. Unfortunately we had not anticipated an issue with bugs, but sadly the no-see-ums we out in strength and made it a bit miserable. Adam found a tap and gave the dog a wash, to discover that he was "covered with ticks". They purchased "flea and tick" on the way home, and by the end of the day removed over 20ticks! 

The Cleveland Blackmans crossing a creek

Impressing the kids with my picnic party trick 

That afternoon we picked up Kylies kids from school and brought them to #21 for a sleepover. Kylie turned up after work, very tired. 

Kathy on the floor playing fiddle sticks with the 4 kids

Thursday November 26, 2020 - Thanksgiving

Kylie had to work in the morning (6 AM to 3 PM) and we needed to deliver the kids to the Taylor's by 4 PM so we celebrated Thanksgiving Lunch and not Thanksgiving Dinner. 

It was a perfect day, warm enough for the beach.

Ruby and Indy

Audrey

Kathy and Adam

The minute Audrey arrived at the beach she needed to pee. So Kathy took off Audrey's bathers to make it easy. Apparently wet bathers were too hard to put back on. (She wont have any trouble meeting new friends on Ellwood Beach)

Of course Deidre worked her butt off in her new kitchen (at least the refrigerator was now in the proper spot) and lunch was great. and we all ate too much. 

After lunch Ky took the kids to the Taylors and went home to sleep, Adam and I did a long bike ride. The weather was prefect. 

Friday November 27, 2020

Another perfect weather day. I had made arrangements for a family kayak adventure in one of the local Cyprus swamps.  A large amount of the SC "low country" is dominated by tidal marshes and Cyprus swamps that I think will be fun to explore. The local "Francis Marion Forrest" is named after the famous general AKA "The Swamp Fox".

We were accompanied by a guide and paddled our kayaks around the swamp for about 2 hours. The temp was perfect, there were no bugs, paddling was effortless. 

Saturday November 28, 2020

Adam and family left at 5:30 AM this morning. Its a 12 hour non-stop drive for them, and its amazingly direct - just two highways (I-26 and I-77) virtually door to door. Still a long day, but easier than flying.

Deidre and I were in our PJs until after lunch. Its going to take us a couple of days to recover. 

Sunday, December 6, 2020

95% finished the island wall today. I am now looking for the right oil to finish the surface. My current preference is Danish Natural Oil. We picked up the kids from the Taylors and fed and bathed them until Kylie arrived home from work t about 7:30PM

The kitchen is now basically complete, except for some final details. It was tested out over the long weekend and seemed to "pass". Here are some photos.

Sunday December 20, 2020

Not much to report. I did not stain the new wood facia because the end color would look too similar to the floor. The floor is "red oak" and needs to be refinished, so we are going to get that done first so we can have contrasting tones of wood. We think we will go "Scandinavian" on the floor, but we have to decide upon the color and get thru Xmas first. 

Saturday, February 13, 2021

Today I have decided to declare our new kitchen project as "Complete". 

The last job was to stain and seal the "sinker wood" on the front of the island and then install the quad trim around the perimeter.